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Let them eat cake! Now we know why she's proud of America

First Lady Michelle Obama is on “a private family trip” in Colorado where she is skiing with daughters Sasha and Malia, according to an administration official.

“The First Lady and several close friends are chaperoning their children on a ski trip,” the official told the press pool reporter who is following President Obama today.

Reports coming out of Colorado say she arrived Friday night and is staying at the Sebastian Hotel on Vail Mountain. Rooms start at $605 per night for a room with two queen beds and head north of $2,000 for multi-bedroom suites.

Here’s a description from the hotel’s website:

For the best in Colorado vacations, stay at The Sebastian - Vail and enjoy Vail’s newest boutiqueslopeside hotel. In the heart of the Vail Village, The Sebastian is welcoming and pulsing with life. There’s Bloom Spa, Frost Bar, Market for nibbles, our visionary Block 16 restaurant. There’s a mountain-view pool, hot tubs and a roaring fire pit. Base Camp offers ski-in ski-out access from Vail’s Vista Bahn lift, just at the foot of Vail Mountain. Our ski valets will help you into warm ski boots and out onto the mountain.

Mrs. Obama has decided to jet out to Vail – instead of visiting slopes closer to Washington DC in Virginia or Pennsylvania – despite already incurring criticism for taking opulent excursions, particularly a trip last summer to Spain. There, she stayed at the country’s swankest hotel and, like this weekend, was traveling without her husband.

Mrs. Obama also raised eyebrows in December when she left earlier than President Obama for their annual vacation in Hawaii, incurring added expenses for taxpayers that likely ran well in excess of $100,000.

The trip to Vail, which almost certainly requires use of a large Air Force jet, would likely be much more expensive for taxpayers than a shorter journey by chopper or motorcade to a resort near Washington. Mrs. Obama will likely pay for a portion of her trip, but many costs of a first lady’s travel are borne by taxpayers.

President Obama today went to serve as the “parent coach” for for Sasha’s basketball team, even though Sasha was not there.

Meanwhile, Vice President Biden and his wife are spending the weekend in Key Largo.
__________________________________________________ ____________

Eveyrone has to share in the sacrifice, have a little skin in the game (according to VP Bite-me)

Roger, if you're such a stickler for "sticking to the point of the thread" how about simply comparing Laura and Michelle.

Also just for discussion, according to FactCheck http://www.factcheck.org/2010/01/pre...vacation-days/ while Bush did spend more time at Camp David than Obama, Mark Knoller, of CBS, who is known for keeping detailed records on presidential travel, says he doesn’t count trips to Camp David as part of any presidents’ "vacation" time.
You're free to of course, but just sayin...

"It's not that government is inherently stupid, although that's a debatable question."
Rand Paul CPAC speech 2011

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. Thomas Jefferson to Archibald Stuart, 1791
________________________________________
Proud partner of (HR) WR SR Brian's 44Magnum Monster
co-owned by HR Rianne's 2nd Chance Hurricane Rebel

Roger, if you're such a stickler for "sticking to the point of the thread" how about simply comparing Laura and Michelle.

Also just for discussion, according to FactCheck http://www.factcheck.org/2010/01/pre...vacation-days/ while Bush did spend more time at Camp David than Obama, Mark Knoller, of CBS, who is known for keeping detailed records on presidential travel, says he doesn’t count trips to Camp David as part of any presidents’ "vacation" time.
You're free to of course, but just sayin...

I guess Bush "drove" to Camp David and did not take a helicopter paid for by the U.S. citizens.

The bush spent 490 days on vacation in Texas and 487 days resting up at Camp David, plus trips to Maine and other vacation spots. They did not drive to these places on their own and they took their staffs and security........just like other Presidents have done and will do in the future. Mrs Bush and her daughters toured Africa in 2007 and nobody made a fuss about her trip.

Thank you for at least comparing Laura's trip to Africa in '07 with Michelle's trip to Spain or this one to ski in CO..

Now, will you admit that LB's trip did concern the visiting of U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention and treatment projects? She also highlighted education and women’s empowerment during her five-day trip to Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia and Mali

What did MO's trip(s) entail ? Well the one to Spain was because she promised one of her closest friends, a longtime Chicago pal who just lost her father, she would spend time with her. How sweet! This though, just after urging Americans to head to Florida's Gulf Coast to help out the tourism industry impacted by the BP oil spill.
She vacationed with a longtime Chicago pal, Anita Blanchard, who is the obstetrician who delivered Sasha and Malia. Blanchard is married to Marty Nesbitt -- President Obama's buddy and the treasurer of Obama's presidential campaign fund.

So why did Mrs. Obama go to Spain at this time? What was behind the "mother-daughter" vacation?
A White House source said that Blanchard's father passed away and Mrs. Obama was not able to make the funeral at the beginning of July. Blanchard had promised her daughter she would take her to Spain for her birthday. She asked Mrs. Obama and Sasha to come with. "She felt it was important as a dear friend to do this." Very touching.

I seem to recall something about Sasha learning/practicing her Spanish as well. So much for "Rosetta Stone" being used by NASA, State Dept etc eh? Maybe a trip to TX would have worked for that instead?!?
But I guess that was before the Census report came out.

As for Vail? No official reason, just "a private family trip that they are paying for, and that "the first lady and several close friends are chaperoning their children." Monday is a school holiday for President's Day." Yes, the position of unelected FLOTUS of a country you were never proud of until 2008 must be so stressful, especially celebrating the anniversary of "Let's Move". I'm really surprised she's not trying to pass this off as part of that. I wonder if she stopped by Madison WI on the way and got a Dr's note for the stress?

"It's not that government is inherently stupid, although that's a debatable question."
Rand Paul CPAC speech 2011

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. Thomas Jefferson to Archibald Stuart, 1791
________________________________________
Proud partner of (HR) WR SR Brian's 44Magnum Monster
co-owned by HR Rianne's 2nd Chance Hurricane Rebel

Thank you for at least comparing Laura's trip to Africa in '07 with Michelle's trip to Spain or this one to ski in CO..

Now, will you admit that LB's trip did concern the visiting of U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention and treatment projects? She also highlighted education and women’s empowerment during her five-day trip to Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia and Mali

What did MO's trip(s) entail ? Well the one to Spain was because she promised one of her closest friends, a longtime Chicago pal who just lost her father, she would spend time with her. How sweet! This though, just after urging Americans to head to Florida's Gulf Coast to help out the tourism industry impacted by the BP oil spill. She vacationed with a longtime Chicago pal, Anita Blanchard, who is the obstetrician who delivered Sasha and Malia. Blanchard is married to Marty Nesbitt -- President Obama's buddy and the treasurer of Obama's presidential campaign fund.

So why did Mrs. Obama go to Spain at this time? What was behind the "mother-daughter" vacation?A White House source said that Blanchard's father passed away and Mrs. Obama was not able to make the funeral at the beginning of July. Blanchard had promised her daughter she would take her to Spain for her birthday. She asked Mrs. Obama and Sasha to come with. "She felt it was important as a dear friend to do this." Very touching.

I seem to recall something about Sasha learning/practicing her Spanish as well. So much for "Rosetta Stone" being used by NASA, State Dept etc eh? Maybe a trip to TX would have worked for that instead?!? But I guess that was before the Census report came out.

As for Vail? No official reason, just "a private family trip that they are paying for, and that "the first lady and several close friends are chaperoning their children." Monday is a school holiday for President's Day." Yes, the position of unelected FLOTUS of a country you were never proud of until 2008 must be so stressful, especially celebrating the anniversary of "Let's Move". I'm really surprised she's not trying to pass this off as part of that. I wonder if she stopped by Madison WI on the way and got a Dr's note for the stress?

I will absoutely thank LB for her trip to Africa for funded HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention and treatment projects. But she also took in a Safari with her daughters while she was there. I am guessing Laura and the daughters did not like to snow ski being brought up in a warmer climate than Illinois.

But the government paid for the fiascos of the Bush twins.

This doesn't look like a commercial jet these two are stepping out of.

Jenna and Barbara Bush, the daughters of former President George W. Bush, were not exactly a Secret Service agent's dream assignment.

"Jenna would purposely try to lose her protection by going through red lights or by jumping in her car without telling agents where she was going. As a result, in a total waste of manpower, the Secret Service kept her car under surveillance so agents could follow her."

The author claims that at a 2005 Halloween party, Henry Hager, Jenna's boyfriend and soon-to-be-hubby, got so drunk the Secret Service took him to Georgetown University Hospital. He also got boozed up with Jenna in a Georgetown bar and picked a fight with several other patrons, with agents having to intervene to avoid a brawl.

Ditching security, excessive drinking, a barroom scuffle: Should we be the least bit surprised by this information? After all, the Bush daughters had something of a reputation for these antics before Kessler's book made news. Their now-famous trip to Argentina (what is it with good times and that South American country?) to celebrate their 25th birthday resulted in the kinds of headlines that no Secret Service boss could want, and the U.S. Embassy kindly requested that the young ladies cut their vacation short and return stateside.

So, while Kessler's book may be simply filling in details of the relationship between Jenna, Barbara and the people responsible for protecting them, it still is amusing to picture Clint Eastwood, reprising his old "In the Line of Fire" role, spitting out a few choice words when told to watch over those mischievous First Daughters. Now that might make a good movie.

Since Schopenhauer has been recently brought up in another thread, maybe I should consider one of his contentions as well
"That at its core, the universe (read PP)) is not a rational place"

"It's not that government is inherently stupid, although that's a debatable question."
Rand Paul CPAC speech 2011

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. Thomas Jefferson to Archibald Stuart, 1791
________________________________________
Proud partner of (HR) WR SR Brian's 44Magnum Monster
co-owned by HR Rianne's 2nd Chance Hurricane Rebel

in most jobs i have ever had. i had to work a year in order to earn a weeks
vacation usually a second week after the second year of service. where does
it say any president or official is granted vacation time of any amount. i also
ended up paying my own way on all time spent.

been a few years scence i've had one though...

to busy working for the unemployed and less fortunate welfare and
food stamp reciepents lately.